--in your house of memories|

Ah, the smell of turkeys... The sound of Thanksgiving! *uhh Leya, you don't celebrate Thanksgiving in your country! /laughs/*

Still and all, it's just the right season to be grateful for EVERYTHING, fandom-wise. I have prepped to make a pimp post/list of all of NEWS' activities this 2016, but I was apparently distant for some time, and I couldn't do it without possibly missing a detail or two (but I still want to do it; why not? ^_^)

Although I'm a week late with the LJ greeting, my birthday posts were actually posted early--minutes to November 11. Ironically, even when now I don't get enthusiastic over NEWS/Tegoshi like I used to, his 29th birthday was his birthday I anticipated the most. Blame the 29-peso Coke Float from McDonalds I got addicted to; every time I bought the flashing ₱29 made me think of Tegoshi (even Brendon) and his then-incoming 29th year of fucking existence.

A week after the post, I’d like to rant. I usually say what I think on FB but I feel like this is a small, shallow complaint, otherwise it affects me negatively. I’m very, very, very disappointed that my birthday post got a low count of 20 notes.

Yes it matters to me, especially when my past tributes never reached below the 50-note mark. There’s a reason I don’t go too personal on Tumblr: it is where I want recognition for my aesthetics rather than to be gushy or soppy (not to say I ain’t ever! For one, my birthday post is a gushy type of post.)

To be fair I still had another birthday tribute posted, and it got an equal number of notes yet it was a sleazy bit that I wasn’t too concerned about. (crossposted on Tumblr and All Things Tegoshit)

It was the antithesis to the seriousness of the other post, and an indicator that despite everything, I was very much having fun that day.

Speaking of having fun! On Nov. 11 I had a spontaneous meet-up with Dhes, where the idea of this entry’s title comes from. “Spontenacious” for the half-carefree, half-solid celebration, and “Cereb-ration”, because we had a whole afternoon/evening of fandom talk—portions of which were intellectual, almost deep discussions about Tegoshi, Tegomass, NEWS… you know, fandom thingamajigs.

And in every fan gathering there’s a huge deal of wacky and tacky:

You know what it meant, right? xD

GOTTA CATCH IT WHOLE... TEGOMON!!

Oraaaaaaayt. Happy Pocky Day as well!

While Tegoshi’s birthday was a “spontenacious cereb-ration”, Tegomass’ anniversary was a very quiet day for me, having a severe cold and cough I can’t even see the computer screen clearly and all I did was borrow (and credit ofc!) a TM fanart from Deviantart and post it on FB.

But the international fandom has been more than ready. In all its awesomeness, here’s the Intl Paana (including the Japanese fans) tribute to テゴマスの10th!

Tegomass is such a powerful duo shown in the prettiest of images, don't you agree? ♥Again, happy birthday Tegoshi and happy anniversary Tegomass. There are a lot of things to be grateful for, and for us, you are on the top of the list.

Happy 8th anniversary to the ONLY girl group I love! That's an accurate statement. Even though I have/had many girl group "flings" (I follow more girl groups than boy groups, to be honest!), KARA is the only girl group in which I can't see any superficiality.° Not to say other groups are fake; who am I to judge? But when it's KARA it's definitely a family.

(photo credits: Jelah Ruz @ KARA Philippines)

At first I tried to make a birthday message. If you ever guessed, I've never made any bday tribute to these girls. I thought of a pimp post but that's something to leave to hardcore Kamilias--I admit I am far (still far) to be one. I also composed a dramatic essay but it doesn't fit with my celebratory mood. (Yes. Celebratory in all its glory!!) You know, one thing that makes me fall in love with KARA over and over again is their songs that seem to not run out of energy.° The signature KARA sound that, despite my hate in the beginning (refer to this post), brought the highest levels of hyperness in me and gave me regular urgencies to dance.° I got my hand movements wrong in Lupin and had the time of my life doing the wrong steps to Step, but at least I've done these... and more! Super thanks to you, gals :">

It is not unknown to everyone that I'm a fan of KARA's Japanese discography. In fact, I listen to it more than I listen to their Korean songs. I'm so thankful for the huge JPop influence in the group, for if they aren't JPop-like sound-wise I might never appreciated them this far.° If they didn't venture into Japanese market I might've not known them anyway. I may be greedy and senseless for thinking this but KARA is a JPop group to me. But no hate, please. ^^ I'm aware that their origins are Korean and never will they be in line with JPop groups. Yet this is another reason to love them: The KPop label and the JPop heart.° It's like seeing two groups, listening to two cultures, and understanding two languages in one. Isn't that awesome?

KARA is called the 'Miracle group'° for a variety of reasons I will not discuss here (I recommend watching these documentaries to satisfy your curiosity xD). The members have been through a lot, and it made them stronger, braver, wiser. It might not be too obvious but they are some of the richest in the KPop idoldom, too! However, it's definitely not cliche to say that their humility is outstanding and one-of-a-kind°. A big part of this is attributed to them being the 'miracle group'.

Like my ultimate bias group, NEWS, KARA has an interesting member line-up changes from the year they were formed to the present.° Originally four, a member left and was replaced by two, making them five for a long time. Then two members left and were replaced by one, making them four again. There's no need to hide your laughing because it's actually hilarious. More importantly, come to think of it, they survived through it all!°

° = the reasons why I love KARA [the supposed-to-be title of this post~]

KARA Playlist

Since I don't have much to babble about, I'd end this post with a list of song recommendations (mostly Japanese tracks, and you know why!)

Probably you've heard of the song MR. more than you've heard about the group who sang it. (It was such a trend!) But there's more to KARA than their butt dance; here are the songs that caught my attention, became my jam, and many of these belong to my ultra-favorites until now. There are also some ballads just in case you're wondering if they ever sing slow songs.

KARA's vocals were once dubbed as the worst in KPop. I won't disagree. However, I'm still proud of the group's unique vocal substance that gives their songs their own catchy brand.

Here is my recommendation list, not in order (although it tends to). Hope you find the time listening to some!

5-member KARA (2008-2013)

・STEP (super favorite and always in the top of my playlists! It's Korean but there's a Japanese version as well; albeit I recommend the K-version only.)

・Girls Power (the song that brought me to liking KARA)

[video: Girls Power]

・Speed Up

・ゴ！ゴ！ サマー

・Ima Okuritai Arigatou (the song for the fans. There are K and J versions; albeit I recommend the J-version only)

・Winter Magic

・Promise

・ Jumping (I recommend both K and J versions)

・HANABI

・Love Is (I recommend J-ver. )

・Rock On

・Love Is Fire

・Pretty Girl (I recommend both K and J versions)

・Jet Coaster Love

・Burn

Original 4-member KARA (2007)

・Break It

・If You Wanna

・Words I Couldn't Keep

New 4-member KARA (2014 - )

・MAMMA MIA (I recommend K-ver.)

・So Good

Whew, I missed making KARA posts! I'm glad I finally got to it again! Along with this is a promise that I'd be a better fan. The type which, can write andwill write a pimp post or even just an appreciation post. Because you are worth the appreciation. <3

Again, happy 8th anniversary. You are a miracle, and meeting you is magic.

EVERY NOVEMBER 11TH OF THE YEAR I MAKE A BLOG POST FOR TEGOSHI--WHY I LOVE THIS PERSON, WHAT'S SO AWESOME ABOUT HIM, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT REMIND ME OF HIM. ♫ FOR HIS 27TH BIRTHDAY, I'M ALREADY OUT OF IDEAS (LOL) BUT I CAME UP WITH A LIST OF REASONS WHY IT'S HARD TO BE A TEGOSHI FAN!

( ^ sorry for the all caps wahahahaha. Did you know that I have fever while typing this? But let's get this posted, for the love of Tego!)

Squeal-inducing fanservice, calling us his girlfriends, doing his best in everything, and calling himself a perfect idol, plus the fact that he's extremely good looking and a pro at singing, are the reasons why we just can't get enough of Tegoshi. But life with him as our bias isn't only about boldness when he blasts on the stage or pride when he accomplishes a project in ItteQ. It's nerve-wrecking too, worrisome, and definitely hard at times. Common reasons?

How fast does time fly? Fast enough for our beloved group to celebrate its eleventh year of existence before we can even move on from the tenth!

NEWS' 9th anniversary was grand, because it was its first anniversary as a four-member group. NEWS' 10th anniversary was majestic, because the group was obviously in its 10th year. I started making this post, thinking, "What will everyone do for NEWS' 11th year? What will members do on their anniversary? Is there a way to make this September 15 just as memorable as the past NEWS anniversaries? Of course I couldn't contribute much to the fandom and I have always been like that (Sorry I was an inattentive fan back then!)... But I thought I had to keep doing my 'tradition' whenever the fated day of the year comes, and that is to have my own little gift: A blog post dedicated to NEWS.

But wait, there's a twist to this. Unlike my previous anniversary posts, this tribute comprisesother fans' thoughts, feelings, and a little bit of their fandom history.. In other words, I did an interview to Chankapaana around the world! (you could imagine me flying to all the countries mentioned in ONE -for the win- *kidding*) Thanks to social networking sites and blogs, I somehow made this a success LOL. The interview consists of three (3) basic questions about the "Life of NEWS Fans"--or simply, what made these people like NEWS, love NEWS, and stay with NEWS. Think of it as the interviews you read in Myojo, Popolo, etc... But instead of NEWS you'll read the fans' words! Yes, this is our Ai Kotoba. #てずてってとってNEWS ♫

Please take note that most of the fans interviewed here (including me) obviously aren't native English speakers so there are grammar lapses. I didn't want to change their original messages so I left them as they were, the way they were typed--even the capitalization and punctuation (except for some words/phrases that definitely needs correction).

1. How did you become a fan of NEWS?

Minori, Japan

I watched NEWS on TV. So I thought "Wow, they're so cool"

​ Ghea, Indonesia

I became news fan because of my sister's friend. she showed me a news pv, news nippon if i'm not wrong. XD and she showed me some photos of JE too like jin akanishi, etc. Then i started to search some infos about news. i was searching for their photos, videos, interview, etc. without i realize i suddenly like them, but now i love them. XD

Tata Massu, roleplayerI only knew Yamapi first from his drama Nobuta wo Produce. One day, I was watching Music Station on Animax then suddenly I heard this uberly cute song from an adorably boy group. All I can see is the title of the song which is weeeek but I still didn't know who's the band. Ever since then, it was always on my mind and I was desperately looking for it. On my birthday, my sisters downloaded the song as a gift for me and that's when I found out that the band's name is NEWS.

Samara, BrazilI became a fan of News after I met tegomass by anime lovely complex, was this year ♥

Katherine, CanadaOriginally a KAT-TUN, but the interaction between members of KAT-TUN x 4nin NEWS had shone through me to become a fan of NEWS.

Hana, EquadorI watched Hana Yori Dango and I knew Matsu Jun, then I knew Arashi, Arashi drove me to JE, And finally I fell in love with NEWS.

Hayame, PhilippinesINFLUENCED by FRIEND whom I met when I bought a NEWS ALBUM

Sondos, Jordan/U.S.A.I became a news fan in late 2010 when i stumbled by an anime called Lovely Complex. The first thing that caught my attention was the opening and ending. i absolutely loved both which brought me into searching up who these lovely singers were. I have then found Tegomasu~ I never look up artists when i like a song so looking them up feels like destiny to me. Ever since my discovery with this amazing duo.... ohmygawd i could not stop. i looked them up 25/8 and i was practically addicted. Around that same time, i found out that this duo was actually a sub group from a bigger group that are actually 6 lovely members in a band called NEWS that soon controlled my life till this day.

Demi Tokyo Inooshi, U.S.ASaw a video on the internet

Bena, MalaysiaHonestly i started liking JE when i watched Kindaichi, but that time acting by tsuyoshi.. then from that i know existence of JE maybe around 2001.. then i follow johnnys jr including kattun.. then once NEWS debut I started to become their fan coz i love K.K.kity.

Mary Grace, PhilippinesActually I became their fan way back 2008 when I first watched their weeeek PV, I really love the PV and the song so much that I always listened to it, But I get too busy in my college life that when I came back to the fandom they were already four left. At first is so shocking for me that happened but I get over it when I watched their UtsuCon and I must say I really ♥ 4-nin NEWS more.

Amy, RussiaWell, first I didn’t like them. I was a fan of KAT-TUN. Then I saw Tegoshi’s Ai nante performance and I fell in love deeply and for a long time.

Issa, ArgentinaMy friend gave me "Ichi ritoru no namida" and after a little of tears -literally!- I made a research on the protagonist Mr. Ryo Nishikido, and Mr. Google-sama took me the 1st video I saw of NEWS in my life: a live perf. Koi no ABO!! and then Eito's OOSAKA obachan ROCK! and my face was like > D:"Are you serious? is that the same guy from the drama?" well it was the same guy LOL and then all my crazy devotion to these insane boys started...2009

2. What are the things you like about NEWS?

Minori: Everything!!

Ghea: What i like about news... i like all things about them. they're just perfect~ ♥

Tata Massu: I think I love the pureness of NEWS. I like their style and their songs. They're far too normal for being a JE Idol but I think that's what makes them unique. They're relate-able and simple.

Samara: I like them because they are lovable, funny and incredible. ♥ :)

Katherine: Happiness and laughter that each member has given to all Chankapanas

Hana: I love everything about NEWS, their voices, their songs, their boys, everything! :3

Hayame: THE UNIQUENESS of the TUNE of their songs and also their individual personality

Sondos: The things I like about NEWS is obviously, everything. From as small as making stupid puns, changing hairstyles, magazine photoshoot etc. to as big as their will to stay strong after so much, their faith in the fandom, their hard work, the love they teach us, the love they spread to us, the inspiration they gave to us, and the list goes on. I love everything. and everything is news. Everything is what makes up news.

Demi Tokyo Inooshi: The music, fun personalites, Tegoshi :D

Bena: Their love towards their fans as same as we love them. another are their members ai!! i love all their characters~

Mary Grace: I super like NEWS that so many things pop out in my mind, but among all, I like NEWS because of Koyama Keiichiro, Masuda Takahisa, Kato Shigeaki and Yuya Tegoshi, because of them we all have a group that we love and that is NEWS.

Amy: What I like about NEWS? I’ve already wrote all this stuff in my previous (Tumblr) posts. You can check them out on my blog under the tag “My thoughts” and “My ramblings”. But to sum it up I can say, they are positive and hyper and all over the place when they perform and they are in sync whic is important, since KAT-TUN are bad at dancing. lol

Issa: Thing Iike the most: courage and dedication (aren't they the most brave members of that Evil Agency?? of course they are! can overcome anything!!!)

3. Lastly, say a message to NEWS!

Minori: I luv U alot<3 "4ever10ve"

I don't know what to say LOL

Just I luv you;)))

Ghea: I hope NEWS will release a single and album as fast as possible and make a concert again. i hope they make a concert in indonesia. and i want them to have variety show, it'll be cool. T.T i love NEWS so much. ♥

Tata Massu: NEWS Ganbare! I'll support you until the end!

Samara: NEWS dear, I'm very happy to have known you, you are within my heart.I'm going love them forever and I will be always a Chankapana faithful ♥ I love NEWS now and forever !! ♥ ^_^

Katherine: The hardships, the tears, and the happiness that NEWS went through had motivated me to stride forward, and for that, thank you, NEWS~

Hana: Please, don't stop fighting ever, fans always are waiting for you. Thanks for making my world happier. ♥ I love you so much.

Hayame: NEWS! YAY!!! ARIGATOU NYUSU MEMBA!!! ALL OF YOU GIVE US A DREAM AND GOAL IN LIFE... PLEASE CONTINUE TO BE ONE!!!

Sondos: The first thing I want to say to NEWS is, thank you. thank you for these 5 years we shared together. thank you for the memories, the love, the strengths, the weaknesses, the tears, the laughs, thank you. thank you for believing in this beautiful fandom that i consider my second home. thank you for believing in yourself when people told you it wasn't possible to continue. thank you for cherishing and protecting this impossible dream we have embraced and loved as a whole. thank you for being there when i had no one to turn back to. thank you for grasping to that small hope after losing so much. thank you for the beautiful moments i have shared with you through out this journey. thank you for being thankful. thank you for being my inspiration, my role models, my family. sometimes the word "thanks" can't express a huge emotion of what someone wants to show gratitude for. all the "i love you"s and "thank you"s in the world combined cannot express these emotions i have towards you. thank you, thank you for everything. these past 11 years have been a bumpy road but you showed how to over come any obstacle in your way. NEWS, I love you from the bottom of my heart, right here, right now and tezutettetote (take out the te) HAPPY 11TH ANNIVERSAY. FOR EVERY PROUD MOMENT AND FOR EVERY LOVELY MOMENT, THANK YOU. and last but not least, thank you for showing me that a four-leafed clover truly is lucky ♥

Demi Tokyo Inooshi: I MISS YOU SOOO MUCH!! Please keep fighting and I hope you have lots of new activities and happiness ♥

Bena: Whatever happens, i will never change my love towards NEWS. this is my promise!

Mary Grace: First of all domo Grace desu! ^_^ Otanjoubi Omedetou NEWS-kun I hope to see more of NEWS but it is also ok to wait as long as NEWS is there. I want to thank NEWS to all the love they have to the fan, because they always thinking about us. Hope they enjoy their 11th birthday on September 15, NEWS Ganbatte ne ^_^

Amy: “Can I become your friend, please, please, please? I can play soccer, I like to eat and I can dance Chankapana, which is very awkward and emberessing when a 27 yo girl starts dancing in the middle of the street out of nowhere. But that’s how I greet my friends, and besides being dorky, it is very cute." And thanx to NEWS songs I learnt many Japanese words, which is very helpful now when I take Japanese classes.

Issa: THANK YOU & I LOVE YOU (with ALL the meaning these expressions may include)

****

I thank these wonderful fans who were ready to share little pieces of their feelings. In fact, most of these people aren't close to me at all; technically, we live at different sides of the globe, and I don't talk to them in a regular basis. It actually took me a lot of courage to invite these people for a random interview. Truthfully only a quarter of the people I messaged in FB and other sites responded. As much as I'd hoped all countries to participate, of course there are many reasons for them not being able to reply. Anyhow this post turned out quite decent, didn't it? :)

As mentioned earlier, before starting this tribute I was wondering how fans will celebrate NEWS11th, when NEWS doesn't have any activities at the moment. Then one by one fan groups from different countries announced their projects! (Have you joined any of those? Join and spread the love!) Some are still ongoing I think. Let's do it for the fandom's sake ♥

By the way, one of the people interviewed asked me to answer my own questions and include them in this post! WARNING: I ALWAAAAYS GIVE LONG, DETAILED ANSWERS. But here I'll try to shorten as much as I can. ^_^

I first heard about the group NEWS in 2009 when one of my classmates had a crush on Massu and my best friends were teasing her about it... I joined in the teasing despite not knowing who that Massu was (LOL). One day I went to my bff's dorm to borrow her laptop but at that time they were using it for something else--watching a NEWS concert. They told me to stay so that I could finally know who's the Massu, so I stayed. I saw Tegoshi instead and I fell for him at first sight! ^o^ But I didn't bother to research about him nor NEWS. After some time I remebered nothing except the name of the member I liked: Yuya. xD Maybe I wasn't supposed to become a fan that year? But the year later, 2010, my roommate who was a newbie fangirl (Massu-biased too) introduced me to Tegomasu and I immediately loved their musicality. I recognized Massu but not Tegoshi. We began researching, and little by little I discovered that Tegomass is a subgroup of NEWS. And the Tegoshi in Tegomasu is actually the Yuya in NEWS. I believe in fate, so, here I am now. HAHAHAHAHA ♥

It's a hard question now that I'm answering it myself! What I like about NEWS: diversity of the members. Koyama is totally different from Tegoshi, Tegoshi from Shige, Shige from Massu and Massu from Koyama but when they are together it's the perfect chemistry. I know I'm just being biased because Arashi's bond is HANDS DOWN but I like NEWS' aura overall... In performances, backstage, Soukon, etc. I also like their history; it's colorful, it's beautiful, it's something realistic. NEWS had taught me lots of things too. They're inspiring~

NEWS, I wish I had known you earlier because I want to show you how loyal I am to you. But anyway... You were just an interesting group to me before, you are an amazing family to me now, and you will be an irreplaceable existence to me forever. Right now you're on your 11th year, I hope you'll be going on till eternity and I will be with you! ♫

****

Done! If you are reading this, thank you too! Assuming you're a NEWS fan, you can also answer the interview if you like. Comment away! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, NEWS AND CHANKAPAANA!

(crossposted on my blogspot and tumblr. Check them out too, especially the tumblr post, because it's slightly different)